With less than a month to go before pitchers and catchers report to baseball spring
training, I'm increasingly thinking of the national pastime -- and specifically, about Moneyball , the Michael Lewis book adapted into film two years ago.
For those unfamiliar with the story, it's the tale of how Oakland Athletics General
Manager Billy Beane used data -- not the old-fashioned opinions of scouts -- to build a team that challenged for the American League pennant on a budget.

Thanks for the entertaining read, Christopher!
When utilizing social CRM, the lessons you learned from Moneyball can certainly apply. Targeting and micro-targeting specific data pertaining to your clients, has become a critical point with the compiled information relayed from your social CRM. The next point is the never forget that a CRM stands for customer RELATIONSHIP management, and you are absolutely right when stating that leaning too much on the data can lead to a disconnect between the client and the business. Even so adoption must be a top-level priority for social CRM integration, because this will delegate the multiple functions of social CRM, to all of a business' departments and therefore will deter data stagnation. As a member of the GreenRope support staff, adoption is a critical recommendation that is always expressed. Furthermore, this will take pressure off of the sales staff and allow the whole business to participate, while simultaneously forming a personal relationship with each individual client.